I’m terribly sorry for the long hiatus, I have been unbelievably busy lately, and I don’t think the storm is going to calm anytime in the near future. However, I am going to try to budget more time here, making sure our viewers here at The Rotting Cartridge continue to receive everything we have promised. Above you see the music video for one of the hottest songs out right now, Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”. I for one hated the song the first time I heard it, but then I heard it again in the movie I Am Number Four (review found here). It got me interested, and so I listened to the song in its entirety online. Wow, talk about being catchy. I must have had that song on loop for nearly half an our. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did, and if it doesn’t sound amazing the first time, consider a second listen and see if it grows on you like it did for me.

“All I Ever Wanted” is the Rotting Cartridge Song of the Day, brought to you by Basshunter. Hopefully whatever you listen to this song through has some bass, but if not, that’s alright too (it’s just how the song shines). It includes some simple yet awesome lyrics, sure to make anybody a fan. It’s also the perfect song for you and your friends to get up and just dance to. I know it always put my friends and me in a great mood, hopefully it does the same for you! I’ll allow Basshunter to do the rest of the work for this post.

Today’s Song of the Day is David Cook’s “Come Back to Me”. This song always reminds me of special someone and I’m sure most people can say the same. Along with that, I absolutely love singing along to this song as I drive around in my car. It might seem corny, but especially around the 2:30 mark, it’s just awesome to belt out a couple of notes and really think about that special person in your life, and how much they really mean to you. So once you’re done listening to this song, maybe you’ll feel inspired, inspired enough to give that special someone a call. Go do it! I’m sure it will mean the world to him or her. And for my special someone, I doubt you’re reading this, but if you are, you know who you are ;-] I’ll let David Cook do the rest of the talking. Just sit back and relax, and maybe write some comments about the person that this song reminds you of. I hope everything works out for the best for all of you out there.

Today’s Song of the Day is as new for me as it probably is for the majority of you; the band was shown to me today by a friend and I couldn’t be happier that he did so. This song is “Such Small Hands” by La Dispute, a post-hardcore/experimental rock group from Grand Rapids, Michigan. It comes off their only studio album, Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair, which was released back in 2008. The track isn’t very long, so please take your time and listen to the full thing. The raw emotion that comes out of lead vocalist Jordan Dreyer is truly remarkable. This can be found in all of La Dispute’s music and I have to say it is a nice change of pace. It gives me goosebumps when you hear him scream out his words of passion, something you don’t hear in mainstream music these days. I immediately downloaded the entire album because I liked their sound so much. Now I don’t expect the same from all of you but I wouldn’t be surprised if you did the same. Go ahead and vote about the song, and make sure to leave comments below! Remember, you don’t need an account to leave a comment, just start typing.

First of all, I would like to say that I’m sorry for the Song of the Day for May 20 technically being posted in the very early hours of May 21. It was a busy day, but I promise to make it up to you with this oldie but a goodie. Today I bring you a classic song by Bryan Adams, “Summer of ’69”. This song was released on Adams’ album Reckless in 1984. While some may say the song is outdated, I believe it is timeless. Everything about this song screams “American Dream”, which is ironic since Adams is Canadian. However, going through the lyrics of the song, you learn about a man with some close friends. They put together a band, but don’t really get very far with it. They practice all summer, but the band begins to break up as his friends grow up and move on to other things. Every time I hear this song, I think my friends and myself, and all the things we’ve done in summers past. Which then gets me thinking about the current summer. I hope to one day be able to talk about these summers with my friends like Adams does, calling them “the best days of [his] life”. However, nothing is worse than thinking far enough into the future that the same thing happens to your friends that happens to Adams and his group. Eventually, you begin to breakaway from one another, and before you know it, those summers are just a part of your memories, and you barely ever see those people that used to mean so much to you.

Oh the Black Eyed Peas. You’ve been a huge hit since day one, with millions upon millions of followers, countless shows, a handful of big bit albums with fantastic singles, and even playing at Super Bowl XLV’s halftime show. Nobody can doubt your success in the music industry; however, some have criticized the latest album, The Beginning. I needed some time to adjust to the new sounds, but can honestly say that I love this album as much as I loved The End and even all the way back to Elephunk. This song in particular, “Do It Like This”, was a decent song to begin with, but then the audience is pleasantly surprised. It starts off in typical Black Eyed Peas fashion, upbeat and digital, but then, around the 3 minute mark, the song undergoes a complete switch up. It gets significantly faster and takes on a new direction, and it’s quite refreshing. Other than that, there isn’t a whole ton to talk about with this song. Everybody knows the Black Eyed Peas for the most part, so everyone will have their own expectations. I can tell you that this song isn’t played much on the radio as far as I know, so here’s a chance for those of you who aren’t huge Black Eyed Peas fans that otherwise wouldn’t get the chance to listen to this. Personally, I enjoy this song, and so do many of my friends. I hope you listen to it and have the same opinion, and if not, that’s alright too! Everybody isn’t going to like the same music as everyone else, and that’s fine. It’s what makes music so creative and great.

Today’s song of the day is by Emery, a band that I would imagine most of you don’t recognize, and personally, I think that’s a shame. After being told to give them a listen by a close friend, I’ve been a fan ever since. They just released a new album at the end of March 2011 titled We Do What We Want. Here we have another case of a band slightly changing its style with its new album. On first listening, I wasn’t thrilled. However, my second time through the tracks, I knew it had grown on me substantially. The band used to focus on vocal harmonies, but recently, they’ve started going a little bit harder and more screaming. While “I’m Not Here for Rage, I’m Here for Revenge” does showcase some screaming, I assure you it is not that much. Please do yourself a favor here: even if you hate screaming and everything about it, give this entire song a listen. After the first 30 seconds or so, the screaming cuts out almost entirely. After that, you get to enjoy the beautiful lyrics that Emery is known for. This song discusses a common subject, a love relationship. However, this is not your typical Taylor Swift romance. Go ahead and read the lyrics on the video while you listen (note, the intro is off a little, but fixes itself fast). The most obvious difference is this song is from the man’s point of view. You don’t usually hear about the man being upset about a broken relationship, but this song proves that it isn’t unheard of. All in all, I would say the last minute of the song is my absolute favorite, not just of the song, not just of the album, but of everything Emery has done with the exception of “Dear Death Part 1 and 2” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch5HiK5vSTI). It’s slow paced and perfect in every way. If you like the song, definitely check out some more stuff by Emery, it’s well worth your time. It’s not a bad idea to listen to the rest of We Do What We Want, but you may be better off starting with I’m Only a Man, as well as, In Shallow Seas We Sail. Those are my favorites by Emery, and I think most of their fans agree that they are the superior albums. I can’t stress how underrated this band is. Go listen to some Emery, and tell your friends to do the same! After all, that’s how I learned about this talented group.

Above you find the music video to Linkin Park’s “The Catalyst” off of their newest album A Thousand Suns. The song itself strays away from the classic Linkin Park sound that everybody knows and loves, but let me just say, this song is catchy. Listen to it once and you’ll have it stuck in your head for hours, if not days. It starts out upbeat and continues that way until the final minute or so. The song transitions to a slower ending and I think it’s a perfect way to conclude the song. People have been giving Linkin Park a hard time as of late, saying that they’re becoming too mainstream and straying away from their original sound (I was a part of this group for Minutes to Midnight), but give A Thousand Suns a chance, it seems like a decent album so far. Yeah it doesn’t sound like Hybrid Theory or Meteora, but is that necessarily a bad thing? I loved those albums too, but I wouldn’t mind some new music every now and then. So go into new music with an open mind; you might be pleasantly surprised and find some new favorites!

Something about “The Catalyst” that shouldn’t be overlooked is the music video. MAKE SURE YOU WATCH IT! It is unbelievable. I don’t even know what’s going on it half the time, but you just can’t look away from it. It matches up with the song perfectly. The first time I watched it was also the first time I listened to the song, and I sat there with my jaw on the floor. I hope you all enjoy “The Catalyst” as much as I do, but if not, go ahead and throw on some Hybrid Theory and reminisce about “their old stuff”. Speaking of which, does anybody know why the common thing to say about bands is that “their old stuff” was good? Me neither. Probably just another example of people hating change.